Instant Attraction.
"You have got to be kidding me!" I complained as I ceremoniously threw open the door of my apartment. Just an hour before I had been hanging out with the guy I had been dating. Honestly, I was never really that interested. We were from the same town – transplanted 1,000 miles away from what was familiar to go to school, so we bonded over that. After the second date, I knew it would never go anywhere. I called my roommate, Alice, and begged her to come up with some kind of "emergency" to get me out of being at Mike's. Was it seriously too much to ask to find a guy who was good looking, ambitious and could string together at least four words to create a sentence? I mean. I didn't think I was asking for too much. Four words isn't much.
I was so frustrated over the situation that I didn't even notice someone new sitting in our apartment. Alice had been with Jasper since high school. They fought like cats and dogs, but underneath it all, they loved each other unconditionally and were made for one another. Emmett was there. He was as impossible to read as Latin was for me to understand (and Lord knows I tried.) He and Alice were best friends, and he was always hanging around. But tonight there was another person. He was the most attractive man I had ever seen. I had never felt anything so instant in my life.
"How was work, Bella?" Alice asked me as I sat down.
"Stellar. Beyond stellar." I laughed. I worked at hotel. Most days I was on the verge of quitting. But, it paid pretty well, and in college, that is all that matters.
"And, I take it Mike is out?" She teased. I dated. A lot – I really liked boys. I kind of had a tendency to go through them, but my mom said that as long as I didn't go too far with them, there was nothing wrong with that.
"Oh, ya know. He's my soul mate." I spat back. The pizza in my lap and the football on the TV was not helping the way it usually did.
That was when I heard him laugh. He was even more attractive when he smiled (if that was possible.)
"Hi, I'm Edward." He said, holding out his hand. It had been a long time since a guy shook my hand. It was usually just my parent's friends. It seemed so formal, so adult to me. I was only twenty, and something about older guys had always appealed to me. It has never been a secret that success is a turn-on, and Edward seemed to ooze it.
"Hi … Bella." I said quietly. There was something there. The pity party I had just thrown for myself in front of him immediately embarrassed me. I then realized I was soaking wet. I had forgotten that snow melts, then has the same basic effect that rain has. Only, it's colder. Way colder. Living in Pennsylvania was not my idea of a good time. Pittsburgh was full of good schools, and I was definitely getting my money's worth out of my education, but this cold and snow thing is for the birds. I love the heat. And the beach. Snow is fun for a few days, but by March I am ready for it to peace out and leave us be.
The rest of the night passed without incident. They all played euchre (some Mid-West garbage I never got in to. Can you tell I resented my parents for moving me here when I was 16?) and I watched football. Around 1 am, the boys left and I went to bed hopeful.